A Different Way
by vanhorn
Summary: Sam's keeping a secret from Dean, and this can only be bad. Dean's determined to help with whatever is wrong, with unexpected consequences. My first attempt at a full story please R&R! Rating for mild language. Chapter 7 now UP!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural - duh.

A/N: Sam's keeping things from Dean, and this can only be bad. Dean's determined to help, with unexpected consequences. Lots of brotherly angst.

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Dean took a quick look at his brother in the passenger seat and sighed. He had no idea where they were going this time; Sam was keeping that information to himself. Come to think of it, Dean thought, Sam seemed to be keeping a lot of information to himself lately.

But this was the first time Sam was keeping his vision quiet as well. All Dean knew was that his younger brother had woken up that morning, gasping in pain, and then shook his head when Dean asked what he saw. Instead he just mumbled something about how they had to go and pretty much ran out the door, leaving Dean to follow. _If I hadn't busted my ass catching up, the idiot would have left without me. _Since then Sam hadn't muttered more than a few words, mostly telling Dean where to turn or what exit to take on the freeway. Dean, not being the most patient person in the world, decided he'd been accommodating long enough.

"Sam, really – this has got to stop. I wasn't exactly happy about being woken up at 4am this morning to be told we have to get moving, but I went with it. But it's damn irresponsible of you to not tell me what your vision was this time! How am I supposed to go into a job not knowing what we are up against? At least tell me where we are going in such a rush!" Dean pounded the steering wheel with one hand. His voice had come out harsher than he had intended, but he was tired, frustrated, and a bit scared for his brother. Never a good combination.

Sam opened his mouth and seemed ready to make an angry retort, but then stopped and sighed, running one hand through his dark hair. He quickly tried to decide how much to tell Dean. "OK, you're right. I'm sorry. It's just….well you know how my visions have actually been getting more clear and vivid lately?" Dean nodded. He wasn't exactly thrilled about it because the more Sam saw, the worse the pain seemed to be. "It's not like that this time. In fact, everything is really fuzzy. I hear voices, but nothing is clear. Except for one thing. I keep flashing back to a highway sign saying "Welcome to Faulk, Louisiana." Sam snuck a guilty look at his brother and decided to fess up. Well, somewhat fess up. "Actually, umm, I've been seeing this for a few nights now."

Dean stiffened, his heart pounding. "Excuse me, but did you just say you've had this vision more than once? And you haven't said anything? Why the hell not?" Sam shrugged, not really wanting to put it into words.

"No, Sam, that's not good enough. You have to tell me what's going on!" Dean didn't know why, but this was scaring him. Sam had never, to his knowledge, kept a vision to himself. They were usually so painful and so clear that Sam felt he had to do something right away. Something was really off here. What was happening?

"Look Dean, I don't KNOW what is going on. The fact is, these visions weren't painful. In fact, at first they just felt like normal dreams. I didn't even wake up from them. I would remember the welcome sign to the town when I woke up, but that was it. I didn't think it was anything to worry about." Dean threw him an exasperated look. Sam ignored it. "In the past two or three nights, something's changed. They feel much more urgent, and I'm getting flashbacks during the day. I feel like something is pulling me there, but I don't know what is going on." He looked out the window instead of having to face his brother. He was uncomfortable looking at Dean while leaving out huge pieces of information that normally he wouldn't hesitate to share. Just not this time. Dean had been right – Sam would have preferred togo without him. For a lot of reasons.

He felt Dean glance at him, silently urging him to continue. He knew then he had to tell him more, but tried to stay vague. "The thing is, something seems wrong, like maybe we shouldn't go, but at the same time it's pulling at me to the point where I can't ignore it. I **_have_** to go." Sam silently cursed himself for putting such emphasis on the last sentence. Then an idea came to him. "But if you don't want to go, I understand." Dean stared at him, incredulous.

"Not go? What, and just leave you to fend for yourself?" Dean couldn't believe his ears. He was starting to fume, and pulled over the car to have it out with his brother.

"Hey, I am more than capable of taking care of myself, you know!" Dean scoffed at this and immediately cringed, wishing he could take it back.

Sam felt his face heating up. "What the hell was that for? You know what, don't even bother answering. Obviously you still don't think much of me, even after being on the road together this long."

Dean started to protest but was cut off. "Well, you know what? I DON'T need you Dean! In fact, I don't even want you around right now!" Dean inhaled sharply as he felt his heart tear a little at those remarks. Before he had a chance to respond, Sam had flung open the passenger door and stepped out. "Just leave Dean, ok? There's nothing you can do here that I can't do myself."

Dean looked on in disbelief as Sam slammed the door and started walking away from the car. _No_, he thought. _This can't be happening again. Sam is not leaving me AGAIN_.

He sat there for a few minutes, not able to process all his emotions as he watched Sam walk farther away. He replayed the last few minutes in his head over and over, and all of a sudden a sneaking suspicion came to him. He turned the key and the engine came to life.

Sam walked straight ahead along the side of the road, not looking anywhere in particular as he felt tears threatening to fall. He shouldn't have said that to Dean; he hadn't meant it. He would always need Dean. _No_, he thought as he brushed away an escaping tear. _It's better this way. He'll be safe, and it'll cause him less pain in the long run._ _And I can continue to hide the truth from him. _Sam knew Dean thought it was his responsibility to always protect Sam, but this time was different. He needed to keep Dean away until he figured out what to do. No matter how much he wanted to lean on him. No matter how much he wanted to run back to the car and tell Dean how sorry he was. For everything.

In the back of his mind, he was listening for the car driving away and felt his heart break as he heard it start up. He knew any second Dean would drive past him, leaving him. _I deserve to be left. Hell, I told him to do it. _

He watched in misery as Dean drove past him, then stumbled a bit in shock when the car stopped quickly just a few yards ahead.

Dean couldn't believe how stubborn his brother was. As he drove, catching up with Sam, he wanted to wring his neck. As soon as the car stopped, he jumped out and turned towards Sam. He saw the surprised look on Sam's face and knew his suspicion had been right. Sam had been trying to start that fight to get him to leave. He stormed towards him. "Sam! I could kick your butt right now for being so stupid, you know that!" His voice was furious.

Sam turned away, not wanting to get into another confrontation. He wasn't sure he could take it without breaking down and telling Dean the awful truth. _Not that I could blame him if he didn't even care after what I said to him. God, he's never going to forgive me for that. _He started to walk back the way he had come, hoping Dean would leave him alone, even while knowing the chances of that were almost non-existent. Sure enough, he felt a hand grip his arm tightly and spin him back around.

Dean was about to make another angry comment, but saw the tears brimming in Sam's eyes that he tried to hide quickly, looking down. Dean sighed, and pushed his anger aside. There were more important things to deal with right now.

"Sam." He said it more quietly, willing Sam to look at him. It took a few seconds, but Sam finally lifted his face to look at Dean, fearing what he would see on his brother's face. But instead of the anger he thought he would find, he saw only concern and yes, hurt. He tried to steel himself against both as Dean spoke again.

"Sammy, you need to talk to me. Please. I know there is something else going on. This ridiculous attempt to get me to leave you isn't going to work, no matter what you say." While Sam's heart leapt at the thought of staying with Dean, he mentally shook himself and told himself to stay focused. He made his voice harsh.

"There's nothing ridiculous about it. I told you the truth Dean. I don't want or need you around!" Dean just shook his head at that. Sam was getting frustrated and a little panicked that Dean wasn't buying it. He tried again.

"Look, Dean, I…" Sam stopped suddenly. _Oh no, not now. Please God, not now! _

"Sam?" Dean was shocked by how pale Sam suddenly looked. "Sam, what's wrong?"

Sam tried to concentrate, but the waves of pain washing over him were drowning out any coherent thoughts. It was too fast, too soon. He usually had more time, dammit! All he could think over and over was _Don't let Dean see this! _He made one last ditch effort, knowing he only had a few seconds left beforethe paintotally consumed him.

"Dean, please- just go!"

Dean never had a chance to respond because a second later Sam's vision blurred and his knees started to buckle. Before he passed out his last thought was _I'm so sorry Dean_. _I tried… _He never felt Dean's arms catch him as he fell towards the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own them. Boo!

A/N: Thank you so much to all my wonderful reviewers! You guys blew me away and I'm trying to get back to each of you personally.

Quick notes: First I'm sorry that some words were merged together in the first chapter – I swear it wasn't like that when I wrote it. I just checked my original document and it's fine so I don't know what happened here. But I'll be more careful to check when I upload this chapter.

Second, just a note that there is a lot of angst to come.

Warning for language. I hope you enjoy and please review!

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"Sam! Sammy, wake up!" Dean was frantic. Sam's face was pale, much too pale, and what the HELL had just happened? Since when had Sam actually passed out from a vision?

As Dean cradled his unconscious brother in his arms, he mentally beat himself up. He should have known something else was wrong. _No, _he thought. _I DID know something else was wrong, and I let it go. I didn't want to push Sam when he already had enough to deal with. Now look what's happened! _As he watched over Sam, praying he would wake up soon, a memory came back to him from several weeks ago.

"Man, I'm beat." Dean yawned as he opened the door to the latest motel room. "You'd think spirits could rest in peace once in awhile so we could actually get some sleep too."

Sam grinned. "No doubt. I'm just happy it wasn't me getting thrown around by an angry ghost tonight."

Dean shot him a dirty look as he sat down on one of the lumpy beds. "Ha ha. Yeah it was a barrel of laughs getting my ass tossed back and forth in the graveyard while you took your sweet time burning that bastard's bones."

"Hey man, it's not my fault that your lighter was low on fluid. Aren't you supposed to keep up on stuff like that?"

"No, I kind of thought my geek brother could at least take care of checking out _some _of our equipment instead of just doing research."

Sam just smirked. _"_Whatever." He wasn't in the mood to argue. It had been a good night, bruises aside. At least the Baker family wouldn't have to worry about that vengeful spirit bothering them anymore.

All of a sudden, a slight tingling started in his head. _Oh crap! _He tried to act nonchalant as he leaned against the wall and thought quickly.

"You know what? I'm actually pretty hungry. How bout I go out and get us something to eat?"

Dean shot him a weird look. "What?" Sam asked defensively.

"Dude, it's like 2 o'clock in the morning! Exactly what do you think is going to be open this time of night?"

"I'm sure there's got to be a Taco Bell or something around here that's open all hours." Sam answered him dismissively but his brain was screaming _Get out, get out! _

"Well, don't bother going out. I've got plenty of stuff in here." Dean started rummaging through his backpack and came up triumphantly with a couple of granola bars. "Here, this outta hold ya." He started to toss one to Sam but stopped when he shook his head.

"No, it's ok. I think I really want to go out. Fresh air, you know? Besides, I want something healthy right now." Sam wasn't really thinking about the absurdity of what he was saying; he just knew he needed to leave. Right now. He started backing up towards the door. "I'll be back soon." He took off, almost sprinting out the door.

Dean stared after him as the door closed. "Yeah, cause Taco Bell is so much more healthy than a granola bar."

He thought about it for a few seconds, and then decided to go after him. This late at night, he knew better than anyone that there was evil stuff out there. And something wasn't right. Sam had been perfectly fine, and then all of a sudden he had a craving for fresh air and Taco Bell? Sam _hated_ Taco Bell.

Giving a tired sigh, he got up and opened the door, stepping out into the cold night air. And then looked around in shock because although he could see in all directions, Sam was nowhere to be found.

As Dean thought back on that night, he remembered how Sam had looked when he finally came back, over an hour later. Dean had been going out of his mind with worry, so when Sam stepped back through the door, he had snapped at him right away.

"Where the hell have you been? Do you know how worried I've been about you?" He regretted jumping on him so quickly when he saw how tired Sam looked.

"Sorry, there was a long line. Gonna take a shower," Sam mumbled and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

_A long line? A freaking long line? At 2 in the morning? What the…! _Dean was about to barge into the bathroom after him to demand an explanation, but he heard the shower start up and decided against it. He lay back down on the bed and tried to breathe calmly. _He's ok. He's fine. It's just been a long night or something. Lord knows I'm too tired to get into this right now anyway._

Seeing Sam now, Dean could kick himself a million times over. Once that memory came back, he could think of a dozen more instances where Sam had made some lame excuse to leave for an hour or two. Not to mention the times he caught Sam grimacing in pain when he thought Dean wasn't looking, or the fact that Sam almost went ballistic when he found Dean about to look in his bag for something. He had apologized later, claiming he had just been tired and cranky, and Dean let it go. _God, I let it all go. Because I didn't want to push. I'm so stupid! This is my fault. _He looked down at Sam again, and tears came to his eyes as the panic fairly overwhelmed him.

"Please Sammy, wake up! Come on, don't do this to me! Wake UP!" Dean almost yelled the last, and was rewarded when he heard a small groan coming from Sam.

"That it, come on! I know you can hear me, you need to open your eyes now." Sam heard the voice as if in the distance, and tried to find his way back. A wash of pain came over him as he started to regain consciousness, and he kept his eyes closed until it subsided slightly.

When he finally opened his eyes slowly, his vision was slightly blurry, but he could still see Dean. _Funny, _Sam thought almost drunkenly. _He almost looks like he's been crying. But Dean doesn't cry._ He tried mightily to sit up, but dizziness overcame him and he fell back against Dean.

"Hang on, it's okay. Don't rush it." Dean tried to make his voice patient and soothing. He was hoping to keep Sam calm. He felt at least one of them should be, because he definitely wasn't. He didn't think he would ever get over how lifeless Sam had looked as he had laid there unconscious.

He finally gave in to what he felt the need to do and put both arms around Sam, hugging him, while resting his head on top of Sam's. He took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to convince himself that his baby brother was ok.

Sam was shocked, to say the least. To say Dean was not a hugging type of person would be a huge understatement. He realized in that instant how much he must have scared Dean and a huge lump formed in his throat.

"I'm sorry Dean," Sam whispered brokenly. "I didn't mean it…"

Dean didn't know if Sam was apologizing what he had said earlier, or if he was sorry for letting Dean see him like this, or if it was something else entirely. And right now, he didn't care. He just wanted to take care of his brother.

"Shhh. It's okay. Don't think about it right now."

They just stayed like that for a while, Dean taking comfort in just listening to Sam breathe, and Sam gathering strength just from Dean being Dean. When Sam figured they'd had enough of a chick flick moment to last a lifetime, he looked at Dean and asked him shakily to help him up. Dean complied instantly, and Sam pretended not to see as Dean took a last swipe at his teary eyes.

Dean pulled him up, and kept a hand on his arm until Sam nodded that he thought he was okay on his own. They started back towards the car slowly, Dean slightly ahead of Sam. Looking at his brother's back, Sam knew he had to try to make amends.

"Dean." He heard his name, butDean didn't stop as Sam continued with a slight lump in his throat. "I just want to say….I mean….you have to know I didn't mean most of what I said."

That stopped Dean in his tracks. He turned to look back at Sam. "You didn't mean _most_ of it? Care to tell me which part you _did_ mean?" Although he tried, he couldn't totally keep the hurt and worry from his voice. _Does Sam really not want me around? _

Sam blanched as he realized what Dean was thinking. His breath hitched a little as he rushed to explain. "Oh God, not that! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have said I didn't need you. It's not true – I always do. Too much sometimes I know. I don't know what I would do without you. I just thought that if I said it, you would leave me and I could protect you." Sam had been rambling but all of a sudden caught Dean's look of curiosity and concern at his last sentence and realized he had said too much again. _When am I going to learn to shut up when I'm ahead? How am I going to explain this? _

It was practically killing Sam to not just go ahead and spill out the whole thing. His bond with his brother was so tight that no matter how hurt Dean was that Sam wasn't telling his everything, it was paining Sam more. But once he said the words, there was no taking them back. He didn't even think he _had_ the right words.

Dean started to ask something, and Sam knew whatever it was, he wasn't ready to tell him the answer and Dean wasn't ready to hear it, no matter what he thought. He cut him off before he could start.

"Please, Dean, just…. don't. I can't talk about this right now."

Dean began to protest, but then really took a look at Sam. As much as he was trying to hide it, his eyes showed that he was still in immense pain, and he looked exhausted with dark circles under his eyes. Circles that couldn't have come from just today. _How did I miss those before? Have I really been that blind? _He came to a decision.

"OK, but I'm not letting this go. Not this time Sam. We _are_ going to talk about this once you're rested up some." He made his voice tough to cover his concern. Sam looked bleak but just nodded.

They continued walking toward the car, but since his vision was still slightly blurry from the pain that hadn't left completely,Sam stumbled badly over some pebbles. _Dammit! _He was near tears again over his own ineptitude. But without saying a word, Dean immediately turned back around and put his arm around Sam's waist, helping him until he was in the car's passenger seat.

"Thanks," Sam whispered as he closed his eyes.

"Anytime, Sammy. Anytime." And for once, the nickname, instead of annoying Sam, comforted him.

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**A/N: Okay, I know this was really angsty, but I felt that they needed it to get past this point, especially since they are going to have enough other problems to deal with soon. And no, I will not be keeping you in suspense. I will be trying to update at least once over the weekend and you will find out in the next chapter the secrets (plural) Sam has been keeping from Dean. Plus Dean does something that seems innocent but has huge ramifications. Please review! Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Supernatural, or any of the characters. I don't make money off of my stories about them, blah blah don't sue blah blah. The usual.

A/N:

Thank you SO much to all my reviewers! It is such a great feeling to know that people are reading what I wrote and like it enough to comment! You guys are the best!

OK people get ready. We finally find out what's up with Sam (who does have a few secrets, but they are all inter-connected). Hooray! I've never wanted to kick one of my own characters for being so stubborn and tight-lipped before. But I still love him!

Oh yeah, and if you think there's not a little brotherly angst in a chapter this long, you're out of your mind. Please R&R! Thanks!

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The next few hours in the car were fairly quiet. Sam was mentally and physically exhausted, and Dean was happy to let him get some rest for once. While Sam slept, Dean spent most of the time thinking about what Sam had told him, little as it was. Mostly he was concentrating on what Sam had meant when he said he _had_ to go to this town, and why Sam kept mentioning protecting him. Especially since it was clear Sam had not meant to let those two things slip. Not to mention Dean continued to get a hot ball of fear in his gut whenever he thought about how Sam had just passed out with almost no warning.

All Dean knew was he was not going to make the same mistake he did before of trying to explain away Sam's behavior or pretend something wasn't wrong. This time they were going to talk, whether Sam liked it or not. He was briefly amused as he thought about how it was usually Sam that wanted to talk, and that he was the one that tried to avoid touchy subjects. But the amusement fled as fast as it had come when he realized how serious this must be, for their roles to be reversed.

He passed a highway sign noting that motels and food were available at the next exit, and decided to stop there for the night. They could have continued going as they were fairly close to their destination, but Dean had a feeling they needed to have their talk before they actually got there. As he slowed the car down to make the exit, Sam began to stir. He yawned and looked blearily around at their surroundings.

"Are we there already?"

Dean shook his head. "Almost. But it's pretty late; I figured we could stop here for the night. We probably wouldn't be able to do anything tonight anyway." _Not that I have a clue what we're actually here to do. Well, that's going to change real soon. _Dean pulled into the parking lot of the first motel he saw with a 'Vacant' sign. "Stay here for a minute. Mr. Jenners is going to get us a room for the night." Sam frowned as Dean mentioned the fictitious name.

"Mr. Jenners, huh? I thought you were using Alex Tellen right now."

Dean grinned. "I like to mix it up." He hopped out of the car and headed for the front office. Sam shook his head in supposed disapproval, but once Dean was out of sight, he allowed himself a small smile.

Dean came back a few minutes later with a key and started the car again. Sam looked confused.

"What are you doing?"

"What do you think? We don't have any food and I'm starving. We can get settled after we eat somewhere."

The idea of food made Sam nauseous. But it also gave him an idea. "I'm not hungry. Just drop me off at the room before you go."

Dean snorted. "Yeah, right. Like I'm going to fall for that. Listen to me, we are not going to be separated until I find out what is going on with you, got that?" Sam's face told him all he needed to know when Dean looked at him. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Forget it, you're not taking off without me. But if you're not hungry, fine. I'll just call in an order for pizza." He swung the car back around and parked near their room.

A short time later, Dean was fed and happy after devouring most of a large pepperoni pizza. Sam looked on in disgust. "I can't believe you can eat that much."

"Hey, I'm a growing boy," Dean argued.

"Right. Well, you're going to be growing in the wrong direction if you continue to eat like that." Sam flashed him a beatificsmile.

Dean saw it and without warning, got a lump in his throat. He hadn't realized how long it had been since he'd last seen Sam smile like that and tease him. _Just one more thing I missed, _he berated himself. _Well, no more._

"OK Sam, time's up. Start talking."

Sam swallowed, a knot of apprehension in his stomach. He looked down at his hands. "Talk about what?"

Dean shot him a "you've got to be kidding" look. "About what? Oh, geez, let's see Sammy. There's world peace, daffodils, kittens. All great subjects. Except I know a better one. How bout we talk about you? Yeah, I think we should go with that. You can start with your visions and why you passed out, not to mention why you're trying to leave me behind, and whatever else is going on with you!" He had started shouting by the end.

Sam tried to hush him. "Quiet down, would you! There's other people staying here, you know!"

"Do you really think I care?" Dean yelled. He saw Sam's stricken face and lowered his voice. "Sam, you're my brother. You know I would do anything for you. Please, you have to tell me what's happening. Let me help," he pleaded.

Sam knew he was out of time, but still tried to resist. "Can't it at least wait until after tomorrow? We could wander around, get some information from the locals first." Dean gave him a look that clearly said that was not going to happen. He tried again. "Then just give me till the morning, ok? I'm really not up to this after everything that's happened today." He knew it wasn't fair to play on Dean's sympathy, but he would take whatever worked at this point. Plus it was actually true. And if he could just get Dean to agree to this, he had one last plan. He saw Dean hesitate, and sensed he was wavering. "Please," Sam begged.

Dean couldn't say no to Sam when he put it that way. He never could. He finally gave a short nod. "Ok Sam, but that's it. We're not leaving this room until we talk in the morning." Sam gave a quiet sigh of relief.

Dean noticed the sigh but didn't comment. He didn't even blink an eye when shortly after, Sam said he was tired and was going to go to bed. Dean just said that sounded like a good idea, and that he would do the same so they could get an early start.

An hour later, Sam sat up in bed and looked over at Dean. His brother was laying on his side, taking deep, even breaths. _Finally, he's asleep._ He knew Dean was going to be furious, but he also knew this was his last chance to go without him. He carefully got out of bed, thankful that Dean was a heavy sleeper. As he stood up, he got dizzy for a moment and felt a bad headache coming on, but refused to acknowledge either. He decided he would change clothes once he got outside the room to reduce chances of Dean hearing him, and grabbed his bag. He briefly hesitated, looking back at his brother. _Sorry, Dean._ He slung the bag over his shoulder and headed for the door.

Just as he reached for the doorknob, a shoe came flying across his head and hit the door. Startled, he looked behind him. Dean was sitting up in bed and glaring at him.

"Don't even think about it." Sam realized too late that Dean hadn't been asleep. He'd heard everything, and had in fact been waiting for Sam to try to pull something like this. He looked to Sam like he was ready to bolt over and place himself in front of the door if he had to. His next words proved Sam was right.

"Sam, I swear, if I have to knock you out to get you to stay put tonight, I will." Sam started to try to come up with an explanation, but didn't get one word out before Dean continued in a deadly serious voice. "Don't tempt me, Sam. Or, if you prefer, we can always talk about what's going on now instead of waiting until tomorrow morning."

Sam pouted. He knew when he was beat. "Fine." He dropped the bag with a loud thud and walked back over to his bed and laid down, facing away from Dean.

Dean nodded to himself, satisfied that Sam wasn't going anywhere. Then he smiled slightly. He had to hand it to Sam; he was almost as stubborn as Dean was._ But he's not getting his way this time. I don't care if I have to stay up all night to make sure of it._

In the other bed, Sam was sure he wasn't going to be able to get to sleep. His headache was worse, and he had never been able to sleep well since Jess died in any case. But he was wrong. For once, he fell asleep quickly. And like usual, had the dream.

_He was standing in the middle of a thick pure white fog and couldn't see more than a foot ahead of him. "Dean," he called out. There was no answer. "Dean!" Suddenly the fog parted a little ahead of him. He looked forward eagerly, hoping to see his brother. Instead, a little girl of no more than six years appeared before him. She was a beautiful child, with long black hair and green eyes. She looked at him curiously but without any fear._

"_Hello." She stepped closer as she greeted him. "I'm Tasha. Are you new here?"_

"_I guess," Sam replied uncertainly. "Umm, where am I exactly?" _

_The girl giggled. "Didn't you see the sign?" She pointed to behind Sam. He turned, and the dense fog parted behind him just enough for him to read a sign welcoming him to Faulk, Louisiana. _

"_Sorry," he said, smiling at the child. "Guess I missed that."_

_Tasha just laughed. "You should stay. It's nice here." A jump rope suddenly appeared on the ground. Her face lit with joy at seeing it. "This is my favorite thing!" She bent to pick it up and began skipping rope. _

"_I didn't use to be able to do this, you know," she confided to Sam._

"_What? Skip rope? Why not?"_

"_I was really sick. The doctors all said I wasn't going to live for very much longer and I was confined to bed." She was very nonchalant in telling Sam this as she continued to play. However, his heart began to beat faster._

"_Then how…" he began to ask. _

_She hurried to tell him. "I don't know. Just one day I was better. Like I said, it's nice here." But then her face became sad._

"_What's wrong?" he asked._

"_You need to help them," she replied. _

_Sam was confused. "Who?" Tasha just pointed. _

_Sam looked in that direction, and all of a sudden the fog changed and it was a dark gray, almost black fog. The girl disappeared. "Wait," he called out. "Where did you go?" There was no response. He shivered. He didn't like this new fog. He heard voices crying out in pain but he couldn't tell where they were coming from. They seemed to be all around him. He walked forward slowly, but didn't see anyone. _

"_Sam?" He heard his name from behind him. He turned, and a woman in her early thirties was standing there. He didn't know her, but he recognized her. If the little girl had been grown, Sam imagined she would look exactly like this woman. _

"_Tasha?" No, that couldn't be right, he thought. Tasha was just a child. But at hearing the name, the woman's face became unbearably sad._

"_No, I'm Josie. Tasha is my daughter." Well, that made sense at least. He was about to ask Josie more about Tasha, but she spoke first._

"_Sam, you shouldn't be here. It's not safe." Her voice was urgent._

"_Wait, how do you know my name?" Another thought occurred to him. "Do you know…"_

"_Yes," she interrupted. "I know what's wrong. And I know you are being pulled to come here, that you have a feeling someone here can help you. And he can, but…"_

_His heart leapt. "He can help? That's all I need to know."_

_She shook her head. "You're wrong. You need to know so much more. He would hurt you as well if you let him. And he will kill Dean if he comes here."_

_His breath caught. He was horrified. "Dean? Why would he kill Dean?"_

_Her eyes were sad. "Killing him would just be the beginning." She paused, and looked around. Her expression changed to utter fear. "I have to go. Please, remember what I said! It's not safe!"_

"_Wait! I don't understand. You said he can help me…" Sam was panicked. The woman was gone, and the black fog was closing in around him. He began to choke…._

Sam woke up, gasping for air. His head felt like tiny spikes were being driven into it. He tried, but couldn't suppress a small moan.

"Sam?" Dean sat up. "Sam, you ok?" Sam didn't answer. He couldn't. The pain was almost unbearable. Dean quickly got up and moved over to Sam's bed. He sat down next to him and was astonished when Sam got up at the same time. "Sam, what are you…"

His question was answered as Sam raced over to the bathroom and was violently ill. Dean watched helplessly as Sam retched over and over. Once he was finally done, he collapsed on the cold bathroom floor. Dean went over to help him up.

"Leave me alone." Sam tried to be forceful, but his voice came out pitiful.

"I don't think so Sammy. C'mon, let's get you back to bed." He bent down and put an arm around Sam, helping him up. Sam let out a tiny whimper as they began to move out of the bathroom, and Dean felt the pain as if it was his own. "I know, Sam. I'm sorry. My bed is closer, okay? Let's just sit you down here." Dean sat down next to him and watched as Sam shivered and put his head down between his knees, his breath still coming in shortened gasps. Not knowing what else to do, Dean rubbed Sam's back and waited. After a few minutes, Sam's breathing evened out and he brought his head back up. He met Dean's eyes.

"Better now?" Dean asked. Sam nodded. "Want to tell me about it?" Sam hesitated, and Dean worried for a moment that Sam was going to try to shut him out again. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when Sam began to speak.

"I guess it's time I do. Just…let me tell it my way, okay?" Dean agreed immediately, just relieved that they were finally going to get this out in the open. So Sam started out by telling him about the dream. He also told him that it varied sometimes, but the general issues were the same. Except that occasionally Josie would ask for his help before the dream ended. He took a breath after he finished, gathering his thoughts.

Dean was confused. "I guess I don't get it Sam. So in your dream, or vision, you feel a pull towards this town and it seems some people want you there to help them, but you don't know what they need help with? And who is this guy that can help you? And help you with what? Your visions?"

Sam shook his head. "I'm not sure what they need help with either, but the background voices are in agony. I have to help them. I figure we can do some more research once we get to the town to see if anyone can tell us something useful." He paused. "As for the guy, I don't know who he is. I need to find that out. But I know he's there. I don't know how, but I just do."

"So he can help with…what…stopping you from having visions? Or the pain that comes with them? Sam started to answer, but Dean cut him off. "Cause, you know, that would be fine with me."

"Dean…"

"I mean, I know you said once you didn't mind having them, because we could help people that we might not normally know about. But the pain really seems to be getting worse, and…"

"Dean, I…"

Dean was pacing. "I mean, it's just getting out of hand. The headaches seem to be staying with you longer, and now you've actually passed out from one of your visions!"

"Actually, I didn't." Sam's voice was quiet.

Dean spun around to look at him. His voice was incredulous. "What do you mean, you didn't? Are you having a problem with short term memory or something? I was right there when it happened, remember?"

"I'm not saying I didn't pass out. I'm just saying…" Sam trailed off.

"What?" Dean demanded.

Sam was frustrated. "Dean, didn't you pay attention to the little girl I told you about? Why do you think she told me about her miraculous recovery?"

Dean shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't really think much of it." He resumed pacing. "Anyway, I really think we should be concentrating on finding this Josie person. Maybe she can…"

"I'm dying."

"…help us with finding out….what?" Dean went cold. "What did you say?"

"You heard me." Sam's voice was tired. He got up and went into the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face.

Dean followed him in. "I don't think that's funny, Sam!"

"Trust me, I don't either."

"Well, then, why did you say it?" Dean wanted to know. He grabbed Sam's arm to make him look at him.

"What, are you being oblivious on purpose? I'm dying, okay! It's not a joke! I have a brain tumor, and based on where it is and the size, they can't operate!" Sam yanked his arm away and brushed past Dean, trying to keep his composure.

Dean stood stock still, his mind racing. _No. It's not possible. It's just not possible. Fate wouldn't be that cruel. There is no way my baby brother is being taken away from me. I don't know what Sam is doing, why he's saying this, but it's not true. Something else has got to be going on. _Having convinced himself, he went into the next room, ready to find out the real truth, not this awful lie. He found Sam, who had sat back down on a bed with his head down. He looked up when he heard Dean come in, and tears were silently streaming down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you before." For a moment Dean didn't understand why Sam was so upset. There was nothing really wrong, after all. Except it hit Dean then, that Sam wasn't making this up, that this wasn't some cruel joke. His whole world stopped. He took a step forward, his knees threatening to buckle.

"No. Oh my God, no Sammy!" Dean's voice was anguished. His whole body was shaking and his fists were clenched without him being aware of it. Almost as if he was getting ready to fight off some possible attacker, except that there was nothing there for him to fight. He couldn't destroy the thing that was slowly killing his beloved brother. His brother. The one person he had sworn to protect at all costs, the one person he would willingly lay his life down for. The one person he loved unconditionally. _I can't lose you. I won't! There would be nothing left for me. _He didn't feel the tears sliding down his cheeks as he walked over to the other bed, sitting down facing Sam.

"Sammy?" His voice was pleading, almost as if he was begging Sam one last time to tell him that it wasn't true. He would forgive Sam anything, just as long as it meant Sam wasn't dying. But when Sam just looked at him, his last glimmer of hope faded and he bent his head, his despair and guilt overwhelming him, warring with each other. _I can't handle this. I can handle any demon, any other crisis, but not this. Not Sammy. Oh God, this is my fault. I should have realized sooner. The signs were there. I shouldn't have been pushing him so hard on jobs. It's my job to protect him, and I failed. Why can't it be me? I would trade my life for his in a heartbeat. _

"Dean." Sam's voice was sharp. "Dean, stop it!" Dean just looked at him, his eyes glassy, not understanding. "Listen to me," Sam continued in a softer voice. "You've got to stop that. Don't you realize that I can practically read your mind right now? _This is not your fault._" Dean started to say something, but Sam wouldn't hear of it. "I shouldn't even have to say that, but I know how your mind works. You probably also think somehow you've failed me. Well, you didn't. You couldn't. This is nothing you can control, okay? It's just one of those things."

"Just one of those things?" Dean repeated, his breath hitching uncontrollably. "My baby brother is dying, and you're telling me it's just one of those things!"

Sam looked down. As much as he wanted to stand tough for Dean, a single tear escaped. "I know," he acknowledged. "I shouldn't have said that, it's just that I've had more time to process this. There's nothing medically that can be done for me now. They gave me medication to help with the pain, although it seems to be losing its effects. There's really nothing they can do for my occasional blurring vision or nausea." Dean felt sick as he listened to his brother calmly describe the symptoms he had been experiencing while Dean had been oblivious.

Sam blew out a shaky breath and tried to smile at Dean. "Bet my behavior makes a lot more sense now, huh?"

Dean nodded weakly. Did it ever. "So, when you would take off for an hour or more with some lame excuse, you were…"

"Those were just my bad episodes," Sam hastened to explain. "Most of the time I can deal with the pain, but occasionally I can start to feel that it's going to be a lot worse than normal. Yesterday was actually the first time I've really passed out. It just came on too fast. I don't know. I guess I just didn't want you to see me like that."

"And you freaked out when I went near your bag because…"

"My pills are in there, yeah, " Sam admitted. "I knew if you saw them, we'd be having this conversation a lot earlier."

"Well, why _weren't_ we having this conversation earlier?" Dean wanted to know. "Don't you think this is something you should have shared? God, I could have taken you to other doctors, or found some other treatment, or…" His voice was breaking. He could have gone on forever but Sam stopped him.

"No, Dean. There is nothing else. I've already talked to all the doctors, all the specialists, whenever you weren't around." Dean thought back guiltily to all the times Sam had talked him into a "mini" vacation, just one day or so away from each other. So they didn't grate on each other's nerves, Sam had said. It had made sense at the time. Now it made even more sense.

He shook himself from his reverie and focused on what Sam was saying. "No more, okay? I don't have that much time left, and I don't want to spend it with doctors." Hearing that put another arrow directly into Dean's heart. How much time _did_ he have left with his brother? "As to why I didn't tell you." Sam sighed. He looked directly at Dean. "I didn't want to be a distraction. I knew when I told you, you would be worrying about me from then on, wondering if I was okay to do a job. Worrying about me _during_ a job, which could be deadly to you. I couldn't let that happen." Dean was in shock. Sam had a death sentence handed down to him, yet he was still worried about protecting Dean?

"Sam, that's my job," Dean protested. "It's my responsibility to care for you, protect you. I can't do that if I don't know all the facts." His mind was still spinning, trying to process everything Sam had told him. _It's amazing how the mind still works when the heart is shattered into a million pieces_, he thought. All of a sudden, he remembered something Sam had said, and latched onto it like a life preserver to a drowning man.

"Wait a minute! That girl! You think that man cured her, don't you?"

"I think it's possible," Sam admitted. "That's why I need to go there today and find him."

Dean jumped up, suddenly full of energy and hope. "Well, come on then, let's go!"

"Wrong."

Dean turned around to face Sam, who had stood up. He was confused. "What do you mean, wrong? I thought you wanted to go find this guy?"

"Exactly," Sam said. "I'm going, you're not."

"Forget it!" Dean exclaimed. "You're crazy if you think you're going anywhere without me."

Sam couldn't believe Dean was arguing with him. "Dean, did you even listen to _any_ part of my vision? Whoever this guy is, for whatever reason, he wants to kill you. Josie thinks he _is_ going to kill you. If you think I'm going to let that happen, you're the crazy one. I'm not going to lose you."

Dean just shook his head. _What about me Sammy? Do you think I can lose you? If you die, I know I'm not going to be far behind you. _"Yeah, I did listen to your vision. And I also heard you say that if this guy gets the chance, he will hurt you as well. Which I'm not going to let happen. So either we're both going, or neither of us are going." That was the one thing Dean was firm on. Whatever they did from now on, they were doing together.

Sam looked at his brother, and saw the stubborn set to his jaw. _He's really not going to let this go._ Sam threw up his hands in exasperation and gave up. "Fine! We both go. But be careful, you hear me? I'll never forgive you if you get yourself killed."

"Like _you're_ one to talk!" Dean exclaimed. He was at once horrified by his comment, but then he locked gazes with Sam. And despite the seriousness of the situation, they both burst out laughing.

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TBC

**_A/N: They just needed to let go of some stress, or they were going to self destruct. Okay, now before anyone kills me, I know I promised that Dean was going to do something in this chapter which was going to affect things. But this chapter just got away from me and is already twice as long as either of my other chapters. It's past 8am on Sunday morning and I haven't been to sleep yet, trying to get this done. So I decided that I would rather get a chapter out to you guys this weekend like I promised, but without the Dean moment in it. Instead I will include that in the next chapter. Promise! And I hope you guys are still ok with angst, because we are not done. We still haven't met our villain, and where do Josie and Tasha fit into this? More to come! Please review! Thanks!_**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Sadly, I still do not own Supernatural or the boys, except in my dreams. So don't sue.

_**A/N: **_

_**So sorry this took longer than I planned to put up. I never intended for it to take that long, but last week was super busy. If that wasn't bad enough, I ended up hating what I wrote the first time around and had to redo basically the entire chapter as this part of the story isn't written yet – it's just in my brain. Anyway, I hope you end up liking it. It shouldn't take me nearly as long to get out the next chapter- my life looks to be a lot simpler this coming week. **_

_**And again, to all my reviewers, thank you so much! (Does anyone know if there is a way to tell which reviewers you have replied to? I was trying to get back to everyone but then couldn't remember who I had already responded to or not.) On to the story!**_

_**Please R&R!**_

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Dean took his eyes off the road to check on his brother again, who had his eyes closed.

"Stop staring at me." Sam voice was irritable. "I can _feel_ you."

"I'm not," Dean lied. He tried to stop himself, but felt the need to keep checking on Sam. As long as he was around and could see Sam was safe and alive, he could almost convince himself this nightmare wasn't happening. He decided to distract himself and Sam by acting like this was a normal job.

"So, I still like my idea of finding Josie first for any answers she can tell us. Do you already have the address of this chick or what?"

Sam's eyes opened wide. "Crap," he whispered, almost to himself, but Dean heard him.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Dean tried to be calm, but a tiny flicker of fear snuck in that Sam might be having some kind of attack. "Are you ok?" The words slipped out before he could help himself.

"I'm fine," Sam answered automatically. _As fine as I can be with a headache from hell that's blurring my vision and the nausea that hasn't completely left yet. But there's no point in worrying Dean with that. _"I'm sorry Dean, I just realized…" he sighed and brushed his hand through his dark hair. "I can't believe it," he mused to himself.

Dean looked like he was about to have kittens. "_What_, Sam?"

"I can't believe I'm about to tell you this, but, ummm, I haven't done any research on her yet."

Dean blinked. "Come again?" he finally managed. Since when had his geek brother ever failed to research anything? Especially something this important?

"Please don't make me repeat it. I'm sorry. I guess I was just thinking more about finding the guy than Josie, and I don't really have anything to go on there yet. Anyway, I couldn't really research…" he trailed off.

_With me around, _Dean finished the thought. _Sam didn't want me to worry and so he was ready to go alone into something he knows nothing about just to protect me. Again. _He resisted from glancing at Sam again. _And something tells me that the pain he's in – that he won't admit to – probably affected his concentration as well. I'm going to have to watch that. _

"It's fine," he assured Sam, who looked like he was still in shock over his lapse. "It sounds like a small town. It shouldn't be that hard to figure out. Don't worry about it."

Sam could barely pay attention to what Dean was saying. _God, how could I be that much of an idiot to miss basic research? Am I already becoming a liability? _Sam stewed over his thoughts and stayed quiet the rest of the drive. He only perked up when they finally caught sight of the sign welcoming them to Faulk, Louisiana.

As soon as they crossed the town limit, Sam was hit with a general feeling of uneasiness so deep that he almost asked Dean to turn around. He looked at Dean to say something and was startled to see him worrying his bottom lip.

"Dean? You all right there?"

Dean didn't answer for a minute, then answered. "Yeah, I just…I don't know. I just had a bad feeling about this place all of a sudden. But it seems to be gone now." Sam hid his surprise that Dean apparently had the same vibe that Sam did. He decided to keep quiet about his own anxiety, since his definitely wasn't gone.

As they began their slow drive through town, Dean started to look horrified at what he saw. Sam saw the expression on his face and started to laugh, his apprehension easing up a bit.

"What's the matter, Dean," he teased. "Isn't this the kind of place you dream about living in?"

"Hardly," Dean shot back. "Isn't this more your style, college boy?" Sam had to admit it was true. The town really was "small town America" in every way. The houses were all cute and well manicured. Mothers were walking the clean paved sidewalks holding the hands of their seemingly well behaved small children. No trash littered the streets. There were even white picket fences. That part almost pushed Dean over the edge of sanity.

"So, what do you think? Each house has a couple with a dog, a cat, and 2.5 kids?" Dean tried to make a joke out of it but couldn't help but shudder. And not just because of his distaste for a "normal" life, as Sam would put it. Although he'd told Sam otherwise, his general feeling of unrest about the town was still there.

Despite his own uneasiness, Sam smiled. Dean really hated this type of place. He tried to focus on the job at hand. "Okay, so should we start at the library or with the locals?"

"Well, there's the main street. Oh God, Sam, they have a _main street_. We really are in the twilight zone."

Sam laughed. "It's not a crime, you know. Lots of small towns have them."

"And if I never see another one, I will die a happy man." Dean sighed. "Well, at least we should be able to find everything there."

Dean's prediction turned out to be accurate. "Okay, geek, there's the library. Why don't you start there, and I'll go talk to the old geezer across the street sweeping outside his convenience store."

Sam didn't like it. "I thought we weren't supposed to split up?" he reminded Dean. _As long as Dean insists on being here, I can at least keep him safe if he's with me. _

Dean would have been thoroughly exasperated if he could hear Sam's thoughts. "Look, we're not really separating. We're going to be on the same street." He snickered, clearly not over the town having one main street.

Sam stepped out of the car. "Look, I think…" he stopped as he tried to stifle a gasp and stumbled back against the car, his eyes closed.

"Sam?" Dean raced over to the other side of the car, panicked. "You okay?" He felt helpless, something he absolutely hated, as he watched his brother, who had pain shooting across his face.

"Just give me a minute, " Sam muttered. His fists were clenched at his sides and his face was pale. "Can you...there's a pill bottle in my bag…"

"No problem," Dean rushed out, relieved to be able to do something useful. He opened up the trunk and rummaged through Sam's bag until he found the prescription pill bottle he hadn't even known Sam kept with him until that morning. He shook out two pills and went back over to Sam.

"I wasn't sure how many you needed, so I grabbed two." He put them into Sam's hand.

"Two is good, thanks." Sam threw back the pills, swallowing them dry. Dean watched him anxiously until Sam's color started to come back a few minutes later.

Sam opened his eyes and smiled weakly. He tried to ignore what just happened. "Okay, let's go then. I'll hit the library while you talk to that guy."

Dean looked critically at his brother. He knew Sam hadn't recovered that quickly. "No, maybe you were right. We should go together. We can use the library first, and then…"

Sam shook his head, cutting him off. "I'm fine," he said firmly. "We can get more done this way."

"But…"

"Dean, leave it alone. I'm fine. Remember, you promised to not hover over me."

Dean was confused. "I never promised any such thing," he protested.

"Well, you should have," Sam grumbled, ignoring the fact that he hadn't actually asked for such a promise. _What happened to the brother I had who doesn't show any emotion anyway? _

Dean hid a small smile. His annoying younger brother still had his spirit at least. "Fine," he finally agreed, against his better judgment. "We can split up. But we're meeting back at the car in half an hour."

Sam nodded in agreement and started off towards the library but back around a second later and looked at Dean. "Jenner?" he asked quietly, mindful of any passerby.

"Sure, keep it simple." Dean watched as Sam continued on his path, then headed towards the old man who was still methodically sweeping outside his doors. _How much dirt can possibly be there? Is this guy obsessive or what? _As he reached him, he shot one last worried glance at Sam as he saw his brother disappear into the library on the other side of the street, but then reminded himself to concentrate.

"Excuse me? I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute?" The older gentleman looked up, and Dean was relieved to see a smile come across his face. _At least the locals aren't hostile._

"Sure thing. What can I help you with? You new around here?"

"You could say that. My name is Dean Jenner. My brother and I are actually here looking for somebody. I'm hoping that, seeing this is a small town, you might know the person."

"Well, you're probably come to the right place, Mr. Jenner-"

Dean grimaced. "Please, call me Dean."

"All right Dean. My name is Ed Wonmish – Ed is fine. Being one of the oldest residents here, I know most everybody. Who are you looking for?"

Dean was momentarily distracted. As soon as Ed had mentioned his name, a shiver ran down Dean's back. Which didn't make any sense. He'd never heard the name before. Had he? He tried to shake it off.

"Her name is Josie. She would have a daughter named Tasha." Dean realized belatedly that they didn't have their last names. He hoped Ed didn't ask.

Luck was on his side because Ed just pursed his lips and shook his head slowly. "I don't think so, although the mother's name does sound familiar. I can look through my records to see if anyone by their names ever shopped here. But I need to put some items away in my store's pantry first."

"I'll help," Dean quickly volunteered. _The faster this guy gets his stuff put away, the faster we might have an answer that can lead us somewhere._

Ed smiled his appreciation and led the way into his store. They went to the back where there was a door to the pantry. Ed opened it up and there were several unmarked boxes sitting there.

"Just got in some non-perishable food," he explained. "I could leave it in the boxes, but it's easier to supply out front if it's already out on the pantry shelves." Dean nodded, but he really couldn't have cared less about the explanation. "If you could just stand there and take what I give you to put on the top shelves, that would be great."

"No problem." Dean watched while Ed sat down on a chair and used scissors to open up the first box. While he waited, he couldn't help from glancing in the direction of the library again. He was still concerned about Sam and the latest attack he seemed to have had.

"Hey, you okay there?" Ed was looking at him with concern. "Your mind seemed to have wandered off there."

"Hmmm? Oh, yeah, sorry. I'm just…worried about someone."

"This girl Josie you mentioned?" Ed continued to pass him groceries as they talked.

"No, my brother, Sam," Dean admitted. He was then taken aback – why was he telling Ed this? Number one rule with the Winchesters was that family business was private.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Was that the young fella you were talking with earlier?" His voice had changed to one of sympathy and understanding. "He gonna be okay?"

"He will be," Dean vowed. _No matter what it takes. _He wondered again why this had to happen to Sammy. _Hasn't my brother already gone through enough? Why a tumor as well?_ Dean knew he would do anything that remotely looked like it might help Sam. Although logically he knew that it was impossible, he was also feeling guilty that he should have prevented this somehow, protected him. _God,_ _I wish it was me instead. _

Dean was so lost in his own thoughts about Sam that he never saw the red flash that suddenly came into the old man's eyes. But as quick as it had come, it disappeared.

"All right, I think we're about done with this box," Ed said. He looked up at Dean from his chair and reached out. "Help an old man up?"

Dean briefly hesitated without knowing why. Then he inwardly shrugged. "Sure." He reached down to grasp the wrinkled hand….

---------------------------------------------

Sam entered the library and breathed a small sigh of relief at the coolness the air conditioning provided. He would never tell Dean, but the heat of the summer day really had made the pain worse. He stood right inside the door for a minute, then told himself to suck it up and do his job.

He thought about using the computer to find information on Josie, but looked around and spotted what he presumed was the head librarian sitting behind the front desk. _Talking to her might be faster if I can come up with some story._

He walked up to her and flashed a boyish smile that made most women want to agree to anything he asked, before they even knew what it was. Even though she was enough to be his mother, the librarian proved to be no exception. She smiled back at him.

"Hi honey. Can I help you with something?"

Her name tag said Emily. "I hope so, Emily. My name is Sam Jenner. I'm looking for an old friend of mine I haven't seen in awhile. Her name is Josie – she has a young daughter named Tasha. My brother and I are passing through and I remembered that this was the last place she lived. I'm hoping she's still here." He smiled again and the librarian's heart melted. Until she processed what he had said.

"Josie and Tasha? Would that be Josie and Tasha Brenner?" Sam didn't have a clue what their last name was, but how many Josie and Tasha's could there be in a town this size? He decided to go with it.

"That's them," he exclaimed. "Could you tell me where I could find them?"

She looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but they're both dead."

"What?" Sam whispered. "No, that can't be right." _They can't be dead! I need to talk to them!_

"I'm afraid it is. It was a huge loss for our small town. Everyone knew them. Josie was so sweet – well, of course, you know that. And everyone adored Tasha. So sad, after she had been so sick and then recovered." The librarian sighed, remembering.

Sam didn't know what to do. How was he going to get more information from Josie if she was dead? He figured the only thing he could do was try to get as much information as possible from Emily. "Josie mentioned in her last letter that Tasha was sick, but didn't say what was wrong. And you said she recovered? Can you tell me what happened?" His head was spinning, trying to figure out what to do next.

"Oh, it was so sad. Tasha had leukemia. I'm surprised Josie didn't tell you. She was trying anything and everything to help Tasha. She was going out of her mind, I can tell you that. Tasha was eventually confined to bed." Emily's voice softened. "She had been such a lively child – to see her like that, well, it just broke your heart." She stopped for a minute and Sam waited, silently urging her to continue. "Well, anyway, one day I was talking to Josie and she said she was going to try one last thing. I asked her what it was, and it was the oddest thing, because she wouldn't tell me. She seemed really nervous about it too, but was determined to cure Tasha. And I still don't know what she did, but it worked. The _next day_, Tasha was out of bed and acting like nothing had ever been wrong."

Sam stared at her. "The next day? That's not possible. Even if Josie found something to help Tasha, it couldn't work that fast."

Emily shrugged. "I know, Sam. Trust me, I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't seen it. But it's true. All I can say is that it was a miracle." She looked down. "At least for a little while," she whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it was only a week after that when they had their car accident. And Josie was such a careful driver, I just don't understand how it happened! They found her car wrapped around a tree – the paramedics said that they were both killed instantly." She sighed sadly. "It really doesn't make any sense at all. But I guess that's par for the course around here recently."

Sam was intrigued and slightly alarmed. "How so?"

"Just that tragedy seems to follow any good luck around here. Take poor Mr. Venter. And I do mean poor literally. He had made a bad investment and was about to lose everything – his house, his business. His wife was going to leave him. But then he won the lottery. It was enough to take care of both of them for life. Except that there was a gas leak in their house one day, and when he lit the stove, well…" Sam listened, feeling sick. Something really was wrong here. This had to be what his vision was about. He realized that the librarian was continuing. "There are a dozen more instances like that, where something wonderful happened, usually followed by death. I mean, I…" she broke off, seeing that Sam had suddenly taken a step back.

"Sam? Are you okay?"

Sam didn't answer for a minute. It felt as if he had been punched by an invisible force, and he couldn't catch his breath for a minute. He felt something so evil pass through him that he thought he might throw up. But all of a sudden, it left, and he tried to clear his head.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I just…" Sam didn't know how to explain it. He decided to not even try. "You know what, I think I'm going to sit down for a minute outside."

She looked at him with concern. "Sure, honey. I'm sorry, it was probably the shock about Josie."

He nodded, backing away. "You're probably right." He was starting to panic, and he didn't know why. He wanted to get away before she asked any more questions. He turned and walked towards the library exit, the panic increasing with each step. For another minute, he couldn't identify what his panic was about. But then it hit him. _Dean! _He didn't know how, but he _knew_ his brother was in trouble. As he remembered what Josie had told him, a cold fear gripped him and he broke into a run.

He went through the doors and looked across the street where he expected to see Dean. He wasn't there. Sam's alarm for his brother increased. _Where are you, Dean? _He looked up and down the street, but didn't see anyone. Going purely by instinct, he went across the street to the store where he had last seen Dean. _Please be inside. Please be okay. _

He entered the store, and was worried further when he didn't see anyone. Not even a clerk, or the man Dean had been talking to. "Dean," he called out, terrified when he didn't get an answer. "Dean, are you here?" But there was still no answer, from anyone. Sam was frantic. He looked around quickly, and saw that a door in the back was slightly open. He maneuvered around the aisles and pushed the door open further to see inside. Then his heart stopped at what he saw. Dean was on the floor. And he wasn't moving.

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A/N: Okay, I'm evil, I know. Reviews might save Dean! Or they might not! But do you really want to take that chance? )


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Do I really need to say it? Fine. No I do not own them and yes I am bitter BTW, no, I do not have anything against small towns, but Dean does. Faulk, LA is a fictional town and I do own that.**

**Thanks again to all my awesome reviewers! I think I finally figured out how to ensure that I replied to everyone as well (yes I am dense that it took me this long to figure out!) **

**Angst alert! Please R&R! Thanks!**

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"DEAN!" In those first few panicked moments, Sam didn't know if Dean was alive or dead. He raced over to where his brother was laying unconscious. Dropping to his knees beside Dean, he held his breath and silently prayed that he was still alive. He exhaled in relief when he felt a faint pulse.

"Dean, hey Dean, c'mon back man. Wake up! Dean, please," Sam begged. The only time he could remember seeing his brother unconscious like this was when he'd been zapped by 100,000 bolts of electricity. His blood ran cold as he thought about how close he'd coming to losing his brother then. He was suddenly struck with the feeling that this could be just as bad, and that scared him more than anything. "Dean," he whispered, laying a hand on his brother's chest, reassuring himself that Dean was still breathing. "Please, don't do this to me. Come back."

"You're wasting your time," a voice drawled from behind him. Sam spun around, and his eyes widened with shock when he saw the man his brother had been talking to earlier.

"What are you doing here? What happened to my brother?" Sam demanded. The man just smiled, and something in his eyes sent a chill down Sam's spine. "You did this, didn't you?" Sam moved his body, instinctively shielding Dean.

"Protecting your brother Sam?" Ed sneered. "How sweet. But it's a little late for that, don't you think?" He gestured towards Dean. "He's as good as dead."

Sam's stomach clenched. "SHUT UP! He's not dead!"

"Not yet," Ed paused. "But he will be." He smirked, and that was more than Sam could take.

"You bastard!" Sam leapt up, and launched himself towards Ed, fully intent on taking him down and pummeling the life out of him. But instead, Sam cried out in pain as he hit the wall that had been behind Ed. _What the…? How did I miss him?_ Confused and slightly dazed, he looked around.

"Looking for me?" Ed taunted, and Sam was shocked to see that Ed was now on the other side of the small room, near Dean's head. Sam howled in rage and started to advance toward him again, but Ed stopped him cold when he dropped down and put his hand on Dean's face.

"I wouldn't do that, Sam. Stay right there. Unless you want me to take your brother's life right now, in front of you. I can do it, you know."

Sam was in a full panic. Every instinct was screaming for him to go to Dean, protect him, but something in Ed's voice told him he wasn't bluffing. He couldn't risk it.

"Who are you?" Sam whispered. Even though _what_ are you is the question he really wanted to ask.

"Ah, now that is the question of the day, isn't it?" He stood up, but stayed close to Dean. He told Sam his name. Sam had no way of knowing that shiver he felt go down his spine at that name was the same reaction Dean had to it as well. It felt wrong.

"I don't know who, or what, you are. But that is not your name, and I want you to tell me NOW what you did to my brother!"

Something flashed in Ed's eyes. "Temper, temper. Might want to watch that. Especially since I did this all for you."

"WHAT?" Sam yelled. "Are you crazy? How could you think that I would want my brother hurt?" Sam glared at him, his chest heaving. His eyes narrowed as he realized something he should have picked up on sooner. "What kind of demon are you?

Ed smiled again, clearly enjoying this. "Oh, very good, clever boy. Figured that part out at least. But don't you recognize me? You should. I think you've been looking for me." Sam's whole body tensed at those words. Then the demon's voice became thoughtful. "You know, I thought about using you instead." Sam's face went white. What did he mean, _using him_? "But this is so much better. A two birds with one stone kind of thing, as you humans might say."

"What did you do, dammit!" Sam had lost all patience, not that he had any to begin with when they were discussing his brother.

The demon continued as if Sam hadn't spoken. "As for you, Sam, I would suggest that you leave now, without your brother, if you know what's good for you."

_Leave Dean? _The thought made Sam recoil_. If I had just stayed with him as I knew I should have, he wouldn't be hurt in the first place! _"Not gonna happen!" Sam snarled.

"Well, never say I didn't warn you!" He sighed, almost as if disappointed, but his eyes gave away his amusement.

"For the last time, what did you do to my brother!"

"You know, I thought about telling you. But now I think I might make you work for it. You're supposed to be so smart, college boy. Why don't you figure out exactly who I am and what I did. When you do, I'll be back. Until then, our business is done." He looked down at Dean again and laughed. "Oh, yes, I'm really going to enjoy this." Before Sam could react to that, the demon disappeared!

Sam blinked in astonishment, then hurried over to Dean and crouched down next to him. He felt a brief rush of relief when he realized that Dean was still breathing, that the demon didn't seem to have done anything more to him.Now if only Dean would wake up.

"Dean?" he asked hesitantly. There was no answer. With the exception of the slight rise and fall of his chest, Dean was completely still. Sam felt the agony and helplessness rise up in him. He pulled Dean against him, unconsciously mimicking how Dean had held him when he had passed out on the road. The tears coursed down his face.

He thought about what the demon had said. What Josie had warned him about. And suddenly the guilt and grief overwhelmed him. "God, I'm so sorry," he sobbed, clutching his brother. "This is all my fault. I never should have let you come with me. I should have tried harder to stop you. I'm so sorry! Please wake up! Please don't leave me!" Sam's voice was anguished, the terror of possibly losing Dean tearing him apart. The sight of Dean, the one he count always count on, being hurt, was more than he could take. It was worse because he knew he could have stopped it. _If I had just been a little stronger, needed Dean a little less. I should have trusted my vision and instincts and not left Dean, just to prove I wasn't a liability – just to prove I was okay on my own!_

Sam didn't know how long he sat there, softly whispering to Dean, pleading with him, hoping that he could hear him somehow. He had been wishing so hard for Dean to wake up that at first he thought he was hearing things.

"Haven't we already had this moment?" Dean's voice was weak, but it was the most beautiful sound Sam had ever heard. "Because I swear we've already exhausted our chick flick quota."

Sam choked out a half laugh, half sob, relieved beyond measure to have Dean back among the conscious. He couldn't seem to make a move to let go of him though. For Dean's part, he wasn't making an effort to get up either, which sent a thread of worry through Sam.

"Dean? You okay?" Dean didn't answer right away, which did nothing to calm Sam's fears. "Dean?"

"I'm fine." Dean's voice was quiet, and very unlike him. They both knew it was a lie.

"Do you think you can get up?" Sam questioned.

Dean hesitated, then nodded slightly. "I think so." With Sam's help, he moved to rise up, but his whole body was rebelling in pain against the idea. He let out a little groan.

"You're _not_ fine." Sam's voice was almost accusing.

"Sam, relax." Even as he said it he felt his balance wavering. "Damn, I wish I know what that guy did to me though."

Sam had one arm protectively wrapped around Dean's shoulders, steadying him. "Well, for starters, he wasn't a guy."

Dean looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Sam gave a one word answer. "Demon."

"Oh." Dean pondered this for a moment. He brightened slightly. "Well, that's good."

Sam thought his brother had lost his damn mind. "Good? Dean, what the hell can be good about that?"

Dean smirked. "Well, it's just nice to know I wasn't taken out by a senior citizen after all. Now that would have been humiliating."

Despite his worry, Sam couldn't help but laugh. He started to hope that maybe Dean was all right after all, if he could make his usual wise cracks. "C'mon, let's get you out of here. We'll find a place to rest up a bit." Dean nodded tiredly, and allowed Sam to help him walk to the front of the store. At that point though, he shrugged him off. Sam started to protest, knowing his brother was still hurting, but then stopped. Appearances needed to be kept up, after all. If Dean wanted to walk to the car under his own power, Sam decided he wouldn't argue, but he also knew he would be right by Dean in case he was needed.

Luckily, the motel wasn't hard to find. But Dean groaned in realization that it, too, was on the main street. "Seriously Sam, how do people live like this? I would rather tangle with demons and angry ghosts any day than die of boredom in a place like this."

Sam knew it wouldn't do any good to argue with Dean. Besides, he had to admit, as much as he sometimes longed for a "normal" live, this town was a bit small even for him. Not that he was going to tell Dean that. He knew he would never hear the end of it.

As he threw his bag on one of the twin beds, shaking his head in disgust at the flowery bedspread, he thought it was also hard to get warm fuzzies about a place where you find your brother laying unconscious within the first few hours of getting there. He looked over at Dean, who had laid down on the other bed but still had his eyes open, looking straight up. _Well, there's no way the ceiling is that interesting, so we might as well spend some time trying to figure this out._

"Hey Dean."

"What?" Dean continued to stare at the ceiling.

Sam was troubled that Dean wouldn't look at him. _He knows it's my fault he got hurt. _"Umm, you want to tell me what happened earlier?"

Dean frowned. "I'm not really sure."

Sam waited for more information. When it seemed like none was coming, he shrugged to himself and determined he was going to have to play annoying younger brother to get Dean to open up. "Well, what do you remember?"

Dean sighed. He really wasn't up to discussing this. He didn't want to tell Sam that the pain wasn't getting any better. He'd barely made it from the car to the bed by himself, and only by sheer force of will. Laying down helped some, but it didn't do anything for his pounding headache, which made it hard to think clearly. But he knew Sam wasn't going to give up that easily.

"Really, not much. We were just talking and my mind started to wander."

"Why?" Sam interrupted.

Dean looked uncomfortable. "No reason."

Sam picked up on it right away. He hated to ask the question, but needed to know. "Dean, please tell me you weren't caught unprepared because you were worrying about me." There was no answer. The guilt he was feeling intensified. _Oh God. This is my fault. _"I'm sorry," Sam whispered.

That got Dean's attention. "Sorry for what, Sammy?"

Now Sam was the one that wouldn't look at Dean. "It's my fault you got hurt."

Dean sat up, ignoring the shooting pains that caused. "That's just crap, Sam. What the hell are you thinking?"

"It's true and you know it. If I had just been able to keep my condition from you, you wouldn't have had to worry about me, and would have been more alert." Sam knew his fear was coming true. _I'm a liability to him._ "I shouldn't have let you come. Not after my vision."

"Yeah, like you could have stopped me," Dean tossed back at him. "Sam, first of all, you shouldn't be keeping things from me at all. I hate what's happening to you, but you should have told me earlier. It's my responsibility to look out for you." Sam started to shake his head and speak. "Shut up, Sam. I don't want to hear it. Whether you like it or not, you're still my kid brother and that's just the way it is. This little guilt trip you've got going has got to stop. This is not your fault."

"But my vision…"

"Look, think about it. Your vision was different this time – you said it yourself; it wasn't clear. It was more a conversation and a feeling than anything else. Because yeah, something is going on here, but Josie also told you that guy – and really, it would have been nice if she could have mentioned _beforehand_ that he was a demon – was going to kill me. Now, I may not be at my most gorgeous right now, but do I look dead to you?"

Sam let out a little smile because it was expected, but the demon's words kept echoing through his mind. _Not yet. _That was his worst fear - that Dean's injuries were worse than either of them knew. If Dean didn't know what had happened to him, how could they know what was really wrong? How could they know he wasn't dying? He tried to shake off the thought.

"Sam?"

"Hmm?" Sam looked over.

"Where'd you go just now?"

"No where." Sam tried to smile. Trying to ignore the guilt he still felt, he asked, "So was that it? You just remember talking to him?"

Dean looked at him. He wondered if Sam had believed him when he told him it wasn't his fault. He hoped that by Sam turning the conversation back around to where they had left off it meant he had. He didn't ever want Sam feeling guilt over him. "Pretty much," he said slowly. "I just remember him asking for help up, and once I grabbed his hand, I felt a shooting pain across my body. I know he was whispering some things to me then, but I don't remember what it was." Dean frowned. That was really bothering him. He felt it was an important piece. "Anyway, that's all I remember until I woke up."

Sam was thinking. "Well, we need to find out what kind of demon it was. Obviously he could take human form. Smart too, to look like an older person – seems less threatening. But it sounds like he needed you to voluntarily touch him before he could hurt you. And then there's his neat little trick of appearing and disappearing at will."

Dean was lost. "What are you talking about?"

Sam had forgotten they hadn't discussed what had happened while Dean was still knocked out. He quickly filled his brother in, including what he had found out from the librarian (Dean cursed when he found out Josie and her daughter were dead, echoing Sam's thoughts), and what had occurred once he had found Dean unconscious.

"Not a very helpful little bastard, is he? Instead of just telling us, he's going to make us work to find out who he is?" Dean was frustrated. "I don't remember reading about anything like him in Dad's journal."

"Neither do I," Sam admitted. "I figure I can do some research tonight on the computer, but I also want to look up what's been going on here with the luck/tragedy thing. Maybe they're inner connected." As soon as he said it, Sam's stomach clenched and he felt sick. _Everyone else the librarian spoke about died. What if the same thing happens here? _He forced himself to breath calmly. _Think, Sam. Everyone else had a stroke of good luck first. They all got what they wanted before they died. Nothing like that has happened to us. _He felt slightly better after reasoning it out in his head.

"Yeah, maybe you're right," Dean agreed. "Couldn't hurt to check, in any case." He started to slowly get up.

Sam put a hand out. "Wait a minute, where do you think you're going?"

Dean looked at him like he was dense. "I'm going to help you research."

"Forget it," Sam said flatly. "You're in no shape to do anything right now. You should just be resting."

"Sam, I'm fine," Dean lied.

Sam stared at him. "Prove it."

"What are you, six? I don't need to prove it." Sam just continued to look at him. Dean couldn't take it. Those puppy dog eyes were going to be the death of him. "Fine!" he exclaimed. "What would it take?"

Sam thought about it for a second. "Okay, here's the deal. You make a lap around the whole room without falling on your face, and you can help. You don't make it, and you stay in bed."

Dean couldn't believe it. He thought about telling Sam to shove it, but because it was a dare, it was irresistible. "All right, move out of my way." Sam rose and prepared to watch. Dean swung his legs over the edge of the bed. The pain rolled over him, but he gritted his teeth and tried to ignore it. He walked slowly over to the wall closest to him and put a hand out to support himself.

"That's cheating," Sam told him.

Dean made a face. "Fine." He removed his hand and continued to move around the room, telling himself with each step that this was stupid, and Sam was being an idiot. Therefore no one was more surprised than him when his legs simply gave out by the time he made it to Sam's side of the room.

Sam had seen him start to go down and put his arm around his waist to help him back to bed.

"Stay," Sam instructed.

Dean glared at him. "I'm not a damn dog."

Sam almost smiled, but caught himself in time. He sat down next to Dean. "No, but you're as stubborn as a mule. And you lost the bet. So just rest while I do some research." Sam saw that Dean was about to argue. "Please," Sam added quietly. "I'd feel better."

Dean sighed. He wasn't about to admit how much the little walk had taken out of him. And as mortifying as it was to admit, he had lost the bet. Plus if it would make Sammy feel better, it was almost worth it. "Fine," he grumbled. "I'll just lie here and die of boredom. But I'm not sleeping."

"Whatever," Sam told him. "As long as you don't get out of bed." Because he couldn't help himself, he patted Dean on the head before he got up. He heard Dean's oath behind him. Sam couldn't stop smile the smile that came across his face that time.

Comforted by the knowledge that Dean would keep his word, Sam turned his attention to the computer. He ignored his own headache, telling himself that it was just due to the wall he'd hit earlier. Within a few hours, he had a pad full of notes, detailing any story he'd come across in the town's online newspaper that looked like it fit the profile the librarian had described of amazing luck then tragedy. He looked at the dates in his notes and saw that Josie and Tasha seemed to be the first victims close to a year ago. He wondered about that for awhile and then got an idea. He looked over at Dean to talk to him about it, but saw with satisfaction that despite Dean's words, he had indeed fallen into a deep sleep.

The way Sam saw it, he needed a couple pieces of information. Who or what the demon was, and whether he was the cause behind what had happened to the townspeople. If so, how and why? Not that demons always needed a why, but sometimes. After reading article after article, and finding nothing about the demon in their Dad's journal, he knew there was only one other source of information. Josie and Tasha. Dean had been right when he said that Sam's dreams in this case were more conversation than anything else. Sam was betting on the fact that the two could somehow reach him in his dream state. If they could do it again, he knew they had more information than they had told him before.

Sam knew it was abnormal for him. Ever since he was young, and especially since Jess had died, he had hated going to sleep. Most of the time he had nightmares, but even when he didn't, his sleep was never restful. So he made due with as little sleep as possible. But this time, he wanted to sleep. He knew it might be the only way they ever figured out what was happening.

As he made his way over to the bed, he looked at Dean again, watching him breathe. Asleep, he almost appeared as he had earlier when Sam had found him unconscious, and Sam had to fight an urge to wake him up to make sure he was okay. He told himself to relax, that sleep was what Dean needed most right now.

As for himself, he laid down on his bed and closed his eyes. And for the first time he could remember, willed sleep to come.

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TBC

**A/N: Okay, figured I wouldn't do too much of a cliffhanger this chapter. Hope you all liked it! Please review! Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: If I buy stock in WB or CBS (50/50 ownership of CW), do I own them then?**

**A/N: (Anyone else having problems updating for the past couple of days? This has actually been ready to go for over a day but the site wouldn't let me upload.) ****Anyway, yeah, I know I'm behind. Mostly because the ankle that I had surgery on was beginning to bother me where the plate and screws are. (I have a plate and 8 screws in my ankle – going through the x-ray machine at the airport is SO much fun! Guess if they hassle me I'll just show them my fun surgery scars!) So I've been taking a small amount of vicadin again. Bad side effect though is that it makes me drowsy. So the chapter isn't quite as long as the past few. And a lot of it is Sam's dream. But pay close attention because Sam finally begins to get a clue. Slight warning for language at the end and probably in the next chapter too. Please R&R!**

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_Sam breathed a sigh of relief, mixed with some trepidation. He was back in the fog, so he knew he was dreaming, but still hadn't seen anyone after wandering around, and his sense of direction was completely lost. He'd tried calling out for Josie or Tasha, but hadn't received an answer. In fact, the silence was deafening. _

_As he continued to walk, not knowing what else to do, he saw the fog change to a darker version before him as it had done before. He stopped, hesitating before entering the black mist. He had a feeling the silence wasn't going to last once he stepped inside. He considered turning around, but knew he wouldn't get any answers staying where he was. Taking a deep breath, he took the last few steps forward._

_The change was immediate. Sam dropped to the ground, covering his ears, as the voices crying out around him began rising to an unbearable level. It was to the point where he couldn't hear his own thoughts. Instinctively he just wanted to get away, but as he looked around, he couldn't tell from which direction he had come. It was as though a wall had gone up, not allowing him to escape. _

_After awhile, he heard someone faintly calling his name, but he couldn't focus on where the sound was coming from with all the voices still surrounding him. A few seconds later, he heard it again, and it sounded slightly louder. As that one voice became stronger, the others seemed to fade slightly. He dared to look up and saw what he had been hoping for. Josie was walking towards him. She dropped down beside him and touched his arm. _

_"Sam, concentrate on my voice only, okay? It will help."_

_Sam tried, and as she continued to softly speak to him, he noticed that while the other voices weren't gone, they weren't overwhelming him anymore. He didn't know how she was doing it, but he was grateful. He didn't know how much time he would have here, and needed to spend the time finding answers, not curled up in a ball trying to avoid this place and the overwhelming cries for help._

_Sam tried to ignore the others for now. "Josie, I need help."_

_A cloud came over her eyes and she dropped down to his level. "I know, I'm sorry. I've been watching. I'm not sure how much I can help, but I'll do whatever I can." She brought out her hand and he took it, both of them rising to their feet._

_Sam looked around. "What's going on here? What is this place?" _

_"That's kind of hard to explain, Sam." She sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. "It's different for me than them." She gestured widely, and he realized immediately she meant the other voices, with the people he couldn't see. "You could say we're all trapped here though, one way or another. Our own personal little hell. One that the demon put us in."_

_"What happened? Why are you here?" Sam was lost. Josie didn't seem like the type of person to end up here. _

_Josie looked down. "I did something. Something I probably shouldn't have done, but I didn't think I had any other choice." _

Understanding came fast for Sam. "This has to do with Tasha, doesn't it?"

_She nodded. "I knew she was dying. I had tried everything the doctors had offered, and even everything they hadn't." She looked down. "One day I got a call from a woman I had never met, but she said she knew about my situation. She told me of a different way I could cure my daughter, but it would be dangerous for others. I was so wrapped up in my own grief, I didn't care. All I could think about was that anything was okay as long as Tasha would be healthy." She looked back up and Sam saw the tears welling up in her eyes. "I swear though, I never thought any of this would happen. But I know now I'm responsible for all the people you hear suffering around you. And now for Dean's death as well." Her tears began to fall freely._

_Sam thought Josie must be confused. "Josie, it's okay. Dean's not dead. I think he got just knocked around a little. My brother has gone through much worse things, believe me." He put a hand on her arm, thinking to comfort her. _

_He wasn't expecting her reaction. She looked at him, wide-eyed. As if she couldn't believe what he had just said. Then she looked sick as she realized he really didn't know. "Oh God, Sam, you don't understand. Dean isn't…he doesn't…what he did…."_

"_Spit it out, would you!" Sam was exasperated and beginning to get a little scared. "What the hell was that demon and what did he do to my brother?"_

_Josie looked miserable. "I can't tell you what he is. It's part of the curse he put on me here. But you already know who he is."_

_Sam had just about reached the limit of his frustration. "No, I don't! He just gave me the fake name that he was using in his human form. I have no idea what he was and I need to find out so I can stop him!"_

_Josie just looked at him. "C'mon Sam, think. Didn't you feel something when he told you his name?"_

_Sam slowly nodded. "Well, yeah, it just felt…wrong. I knew it wasn't his name, even before I knew he was a demon, but I still felt like I should know it somehow."_

_Josie nodded enthusiastically. "If you can figure out why, you will know most of what you need to do. I wish I could tell you, but I am bound by his rules here. He only lets me talk to you because it amuses him. I think he actually wants you to figure it out." Suddenly she looked behind her, and became nervous. "I have to go."_

"_No, wait!" Sam exclaimed. "I still need to know about Dean. And…why are you here? Why is Tasha not here with you?" _

_Josie looked anxious but answered. "What I did – it affected Tasha but it wasn't her choice. Because of it, he has little power over her after death. He can't hurt her, but he can still keep her here. I haven't been able to see her, but I know she's there." She lowered her voice. "The others here…" she bit her lip. "I brought him here, so it amuses him to keep me, remind me of what I've done. But the others he killed and brought here - he tortures them without end until they offer up their souls to him to end their torment. It's what he really wants; it feeds his power somehow. If you can't figure out how to stop him, it will be like this forever". She looked at him directly. "And you and Dean will be separated here exactly as Josie and I are." She paused briefly. "Except Dean will be with the others."_

Sam woke up, and felt a cold fear come over him as he remembered Josie's last words. He looked over at Dean, and felt a small measure of comfort as he watched him evenly breathe in and out. _He's fine,_ Sam told himself. _He's right here, alive, not in some psycho demon hell. _Sam could talk to himself all he wanted, but he knew in the back of his mind that something had happened to Dean, and he needed to find out what and fix it, before his fears became reality. For both of them.

He looked over at the clock, and saw with disgust that it was barely 3am. _Well, I got a few hours at least this time. _He got up quietly, trying not to wake Dean up. As he stood up, he noted with relief that he was having a better day, as his headache was not as bad as the previous morning. Well, middle of the night at least. He just felt a pain on one side. He could handle that, he knew. He had survived much worse. He tried to put it out of his mind and get to work.

As he moved past Dean's bed towards the computer, Dean raised his head slightly, squinting at him. "Sam?" Dean's voice was slightly slurred with sleep. "Wha'cha doing? You okay?"

"Just going to the bathroom," Sam lied. "Go back to sleep."

"Kay," Dean murmured, and dropped his head back to his pillow.

Sam watched him carefully for a minute, not moving until he heard the unmistakable sound of light snoring. Then he moved silently over to the computer he'd left on the desk, and prepared to do some more research.

Two hours later, he closed his eyes in frustration. He was no further along than he had been, and still had no idea what they were dealing with. He looked down at his notes, and saw the name the demon had given him again. Ed Wonmish. He stared at it for awhile. _Why do I feel like it means something else? _He started doodling notes around it. Anything he could think of. He drew a line from the name to the word 'demon' he written elsewhere. Connected Josie and Tasha to it. Then himself and Dean.Looking at the page again, hesighed Eyes blurry from a lack of sleep, he yawned and rubbed his eyes. As he did so, the letters became something else in his mind and the connections made more sense.

Suddenly wide awake, he quickly pulled out their dad's journal and flipped through the pages. He found what he was looking for quickly and scanned the notes, reaffirming what he already guessed. _But this shouldn't mean anything,_ he told himself. _Neither one of us...shit._ He looked over at the bed. _Dean._

His heart sunk as he looked over at his sleeping brother. "God, Dean," he whispered quietly. "What the hell did you do?" He sat back and waited. Different possibilities ran through his head, none of them good. When his brother woke up, they were going to have a long, hard talk.

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**A/N: Kudos to anyone who figured out the name thing before Sam did. And yes, I know I haven't told you what it is, but for anyone that isn't sure, it will be confirmed in the next chapter, where both brothers should figure out what is really going on. Somehow I don't think they are going to agree on what should be done at that point. But I'll be happier because I prefer chapters where the brothers are interacting. I just had to get past this point. Anyway, hope you liked! Please review and let me know! Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: The reason this took so long to put up was because I was buying them. I do own them, so there! Okay FINE. I don't own them. Bitter? Why yes, I am.

A/N: Okay, I really have no excuse for not having this up earlier, unless you count getting promoted at work. Of course, what this really means is that for a slight increase in pay, I'm now doing my job plus the job of two people who left. Nice, huh? Anyway, I have been feeling extremely guilty everyday about not getting this up sooner. I have been thinking about it, I just haven't had time.

I really appreciate you guys and hope you can forgive me for not getting this to you earlier. I hope you enjoy, please review and let me know what you think! Thanks!

Warning for language.

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When Dean woke up, he was a little disconcerted that the first thing he saw was Sam sitting on the chair across from the bed, staring hard at him with an unreadable look on his face.

He sat up, ignoring the pain that shot through his body at the abrupt movement. "Jesus, Sam, what are you doing? Why are you looking at me that way?" Sam just shrugged and looked away.

_What the hell is that supposed to mean? _Dean started to worry that Sam's symptoms were worse and he just didn't want to tell him. He rubbed his forehead in agitation. _Well, forget it. He doesn't get to hide this stuff from me any longer. We agreed on that. _He decided he was just going to have to pull it out of him.

"How do you feel?" If Dean had thought about the possible different reactions that question could have generated, the cold glare Sam gave him probably would have been at the bottom of the list.

"Okay, so that was a bad question?" Dean ventured a guess. No answer. "Sammy?"

"It's Sam," he snarled.

"Sheesh! Okay, _Sam_. Now how about you answer my question?"

"I don't know, Dean," Sam spat. "Why don't _you_ tell me how I feel?"

Dean began to wonder if, while he was asleep, a shape shifter had taken Sam and this wasn't his brother at all.

"What is wrong with you this morning? Care to tell me what sparked this little temper tantrum you're having? Cause this is not the brightest start to a day I've ever had."

Sam jumped up and stalked over to the bed. "You ass, you goddamn stupid ass, I could just…" He spun around, clenching his fists.

"What, Sam? You could what?" Dean threw the covers back and got out of bed, feeling at a disadvantage there. He didn't know why Sam seemed to be spoiling for a fight, but he was more than willing to accommodate him.

Dean wouldn't have been surprised if Sam had attacked him then and there. The anger was positively radiating off of him. And Sam wasn't usually one to back down from a fight, so he was a little shocked when Sam started walking over to the door.

"Just forget it. I'm going to go get breakfast."

Dean watched in astonishment as Sam slammed the door behind him without ever looking back. _Okay, now what the hell was that about? It's way too early for Sam to be throwing that shit at me, especially when I don't even know what started it! I am so not in the mood to deal with this._

Hoping Sam would be over whatever had crawled up his ass by the time he got back, Dean decided to take a long shower. As the warm water pulsed down his back, Dean tried to relax, but it was hard when his head still hurt like hell from the night before, and his brother was acting like he was four years old. He closed his eyes and thought back to the night before. He was frustrated because his memories of exactly what had happened still weren't clear. He could remember the demon whispering to him before he blacked out, but the exact words were hazy. He sighed and gave up for now. He stepped out of the shower and toweled off. Looking at himself in the mirror, he cringed. He definitely was not looking his best.

It was when he bent down to pick up his clothes from the bathroom floor that the memory from the night before washed over him…and when it all came back, he knew the one thing he could never do was tell Sam.

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Sam wasn't sure where he was going when he left. He just knew he needed to get rid of some ofhis excess energy and if he hadn't left, it was going to be used punching a hole through the wall or his brother. Either one. _Okay, so_ _pissing Dean off first thing in the morning was probably not my smartest move. But after what he's done…_ He knew he wasn't being rational. He didn't even know for sure that Dean had done anything. But the three hours he'd had to worry and wonder before Dean woke up had not done anything for his disposition. He'd come to what he figured the most likely scenario was, and it scared him beyond anything. _We're going to have to talk about it. Fighting with him is only putting off the inevitable. But I wish…_

"You might want to be careful with that, Sam." The voice came from behind him and sent chills down his spine Sam spun around, knowing what, or who, he would find. And he was glad….

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Dean waited in the hotel room, becoming impatient when Sam still hadn't returned. A feeling of apprehension suddenly loomed over him, but he tried to shake it off, telling himself Sam was fine. He looked around the room and his eyes landed on Sam's notes from the night. He sat down, and after a few minutes, had to admit he was impressed with Sam's thoroughness. His brother had made notations on different ideas Dean didn't think he would have thought of. He was so engrossed in the research his brother had done that when he looked up, he was shocked to see an hour had gone by. The uneasiness settled over him again, and he finally decided he needed to go after his younger brother. He flung open the door and stumbled back in surprise.

"Damn it, Sam! That's the second time today you've scared the shit out of me! And it's barely mid-morning!"

"Sorry," Sam mumbled. He would barely look at him. Dean thought about questioning him until he remembered how well that had gone that morning.

In fact, looking at Sam now, he wasn't sure what to expect. He was relieved when Sam just tossed a McDonald's bag at him. _Well, at least boy genius remembered the food. _He looked inside the bag and found Egg McMuffins, his favorite breakfast. He happily started to dig in, then stopped. He thought about how Sam wouldn't meet his eyes and looked at Sam with suspicion.

"Did you wreck my car?"

"What?" _Where did that come from, _Sam wondered.

"C'mon, you hate this kind of food. Whenever you get breakfast, I end up with some healthy crap that I can't stand. First you start a fight this morning for no reason, and then come back with this? Yeah, you definitely wrecked my car." Dean jumped up and started heading towards the door to see what shape his baby was in.

Sam would have smiled if he hadn't been so miserable. He should have known that would be Dean's first thought. "Dean, relax. The car is fine. Nothing happened to it."

Dean ignored him. He opened the door and almost slumped against it in relief when he saw the Impala gleaming in the parking lot. It looked unharmed. He closed the door and shrugged at the look Sam gave him. "Well, you can't blame a guy for wondering."

Dean walked back over his food. He was about to ask a question about what had caused Sam's outburst earlier, but got distracted when he noticed what Sam was eating.

"Sam, what is that?" He pointed at what Sam was holding. Sam mumbled something incoherently. "Uh-huh. Want to try that in English this time?" Dean asked.

Sam sighed. "Fine. It's a Fruit 'N Yogurt Parfait, okay?" He closed his eyes, knowing what was coming. He wasn't disappointed.

"You've got to be kidding me. Even you, the health food nut, would not touch something with a name so gay as a Fruit N' Yogurt Parfait. Please tell me you are joking." Dean was looking at him with something akin to horror.

Sam defiantly took a bite without answering.

"Oh God. Look, Sam, we are going to have to talk. Guys shouldn't even know the word Parfait. It's like, a law or something. I know you have your girly moments, but this is really going too far."

Sam just smirked and kept eating. Dean sighed, gave Sam up as a lost cause, and turned his attention to his much more manly Egg McMuffins.

Dean polished off his food in record time. He looked at his brother who seemed completely different from an hour before. "You know, Sam, this multiple personality disorder thing doesn't look good on you," Dean commented.

"And that means…" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows.

"What do you think? It means I want to know why I woke up to a raving lunatic, and now you're acting like nothing ever happened!"

Sam looked anywhere but at his brother. "Drop it, Dean," he advised.

"Yeah, cause that worked soooo well in the past," the older hunter sarcastically replied. "What is going on with you?"

Sam stood up and grabbed the empty food bags. He crumpled them up and walked over to the wastebasket, dropping them in. He looked at the desk next to it with his notes from the night before. His fists clenched again. The food had been a peace offering of sorts, yes, but knew his emotions were still very close to the surface, especially after what he had just been through in the last hour. He prayed for patience.

"Hey, Sam, as fascinating as our garbage may be, I'm over here," Dean told him.

Sam looked around the room and his eyes settled on the door.

"I don't think so," Dean growled and leapt across the room, planting himself in front of the door.

"You really want to go into this now?" Sam asked. His stomach was churning.

"Well, let me see. I'm not the one who woke up acting like an ass for no reason! Hell yes, we are going to go into this now!"

"Fine." Sam walked over to one of the beds and sat down.

Dean sat down on the other bed and looked at him expectantly. "Well?" he finally asked, after Sam stayed silent. "Spill."

To Dean's surprise and horror, Sam's eyes started to look suspiciously like they were beginning to water. _I can't do this. I just CANNOT do this. What am I supposed to say to him? How could he…I can't believe I was….ugh….now I can't even form complete sentences with my own thoughts. _He saw Dean looking at him and figured he'd better say something before Dean went nuts. "I…ummm… did some research last night."

Dean was just relieved Sam had managed to utter the sentence without his voice cracking. _Maybe I just imagined the tears. _"Okay. So that would be when you lied to me and told me you were just going to the bathroom?" Dean's eyebrow twitched.

Sam ran a shaky hand distractedly through his hair. "Yeah, look, I'm not going to apologize for that. You needed sleep after what you went through yesterday."

Dean was agitated. "If anyone needs rest around here, it's you!" Sam gave him a weird look. "What?" Dean asked defensively. There was no answer. "Damn it, Sam, what's wrong?"

And that question finally pushed Sam over the edge. "You have the actual nerve to look at me and ask what's wrong?" Sam started to raise his voice without even realizing it. "Why don't we talk about you, huh Dean?"

_Uh-oh,_ Dean thought. _This can't be good. _He tried to play it off, hoping Sam didn't know the truth. "I don't know what's gotten into you Sam. There's nothing wrong with me." Sam snorted at that. _Oh yeah, this definitely isn't good. _Dean tried a different approach. "Look, let's just forget this morning happened, okay? We'll just chalk it up to you having a waking up on the wrong side of the bed or something."

Sam looked at him in disbelief. He stood up, feeling like he was almost wanted to get out of his own skin. Then, just as quickly, he sat back down. "Dean." He said his brother's name quietly, which had the effect of getting the older man's complete attention. Sam was suddenly tired. "I know, okay? I know what you did."

Dean had a sinking feeling in his stomach. _How can he possibly know the truth? _"Sam…"

"Don't." Sam shook his head. "You know, it's little wonder I didn't tell you when I found out about my condition. After all, I learned from you."

Dean was shocked. "What are you talking about?"

Sam looked straight at him. "If you can't trust me enough to let me know when you need help, why should I have learned to do any different?"

Dean felt as if the breath had been knocked out of him. "Sammy, it's not like that," he protested.

"It's Sam, and yes, it's exactly like that," Sam countered. "In fact, to prove it, why don't I tell you about my morning after I left the room?"

Dean looked up, a bit fearful, but still trying not to show it. "I don't know why your morning should have anything to do with this, but you're obviously dying to tell me, so you might as well." He tried to say this offhand, as if it didn't matter to him in the slightest, but he had a feeling this was not going to end well.

"I was pretty angry when I left this morning," Sam started. A slight smile touched his face for a second, but then left. "I guess that was pretty obvious. But like I said, when you were sleeping, I had the chance to do some research on that demon. And guess what I discovered, Dean?"

Dean knew, but didn't want to say. He looked down.

Sam continued as if he hadn't noticed. "It was a Wish Demon. Which means that you spent quite awhile alone in its presence. And by your own account, you were taken off guard when he grabbed you because you were worried about me." Dean opened his mouth, but Sam cut him off. "I'm not done," he said sharply. "So I had my suspicions this morning. But I couldn't be sure. Until I ran into someone this morning." Dean looked at him, the question clearly written on his face. "Or should I say, something."

"No," Dean whispered.

"Oh yes," Sam gave a short, mirthless laugh. "He seemed to know exactly when I figured out what he was, and he was waiting for me. After all, he had told me that he would find me again once I knew what kind of demon he really was and what he had done. And he was all too pleased to confirm my suspicions, that you, being an IDIOT, actually wished in his presence that my condition had happened to you instead!" Sam couldn't help it, by the time he finished, he was yelling. He didn't even notice the tear that had slipped down his cheek, but Dean did. "I tried to believe that you wouldn't be that stupid, that my slight headache was due to the tumor instead of hitting my head on the wall, but I knew, deep down, that I was cured. Which, normally, we could consider a miracle. Except for one small fact. Which was, what again? Oh yes. Not that you apparently planned on telling me, but that in order to get my miracle, I sentenced my brother to death." Sam whispered the last part, complete misery and sorrow written all over his face.

Dean jumped up, ignoring that pain that shot through his body. "Now, wait a minute. Just stop that crap right now. You did no such thing. This was my choice, okay?"

"How could it possibly be your choice?" Sam asked. "You didn't know what he was."

"No," Dean admitted. "But if I had, I would have made the same wish. And he did give me a choice."

"What?" Sam said incredulously. "He gave you a choice, and you still chose this?"

Dean nodded. He remembered what had happened now with crystal clarity. '_God,_ _I wish it was me instead.'_ Once he had made that wish in his head and the demon had grabbed his hand, it had asked him if he was sure. It was at that moment that Dean realized he could save Sam. A feeling of rightness had come over him. That this was just. His job was to make sure Sammy was okay. He had been feeling helpless and frustrated because there had been nothing he could do to help his brother. Until that point. So when he told the demon yes, there had been no hesitation on his part. After that, he just remembered a blast of pain coming over him, and then nothing until Sam had found him.

"I had to, Sam," Dean explained. "It was the only way I could help you."

"Help me!" Sam exploded. "By letting him kill you instead?"

"I had to," Dean repeated brokenly. "I couldn't just let you…I could finally do something. It's what I'm supposed to do."

Sam was in a complete state of shock. _God, he really thinks it's his job to die in my place. Because he thinks he's supposed to take care of me, at any cost to him. _A feeling of love washed over him towards his brother, but at the same time, he couldn't accept this. He couldn't let Dean do this for him.

"You had no right, Dean."

"I had every right!" Dean disagreed. "You're my brother – I'm not going to let anything happen to you while I'm around. I told you that before, and I meant it. This is the only way I can protect you."

Sam sighed. He knew Dean really felt this way, but how could he believe Sam would just let this happen without a fight? "And you really thought you could get away with never telling me this? Like I wouldn't notice that my symptoms had disappeared, while coincidentally you started feeling like hell? If you think I'm just going to let you do this, you're completely out of your mind."

"Sam. It's done, okay? There's nothing you can do." This, at least, Dean felt sure of. He started to pull on a T-shirt, not realizing until then that he had been arguing half dressed. Until Sam spoke again.

"Actually, I think there is."

Dean stopped with the shirt halfway over his head for a moment. He slowly pulled it down and looked at Sam, hoping to see something on his face that would tell him Sam was joking. But he knew Sam would never joke about something like this. "What are you talking about?

Sam looked away for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "I told you that I ran into the Demon this morning. He was there just to gloat, really. But I didn't mind, in fact I was happy in a way to see him. Because I figured…" Sam shrugged.

"You figured what, Sam?" Dean's voice had become dangerously soft.

"I figured as long as he was there, I could make a wish of my own. That I could wish yours would be undone."

"Damn it, Sam! What the hell were you thinking? How could you…" Dean stopped. "Wait a minute. If you made that wish, why don't I feel any different? I can tell I'm…"

"Still sick?" Sam asked.

Dean nodded, confused.

"Well, apparently Wish Demon's don't have to grant every wish. He took extra pleasure in telling me that. And the last thing he wanted to do was undo your wish, when he knew how much pain it would cause both of us. You dying, and me knowing it was my fault that you died."

"Would you stop that!" Dean exploded. "For the last time Sam, this is NOT YOUR FAULT!"

"Dean, it is my fault," Sam said earnestly. "The fact is that Josie told me if I let you come here with me, I would get you killed. And she was right. I'm responsible for this."

Dean began to pace like a caged tiger. "I really don't want to have to hurt you Sam, but I swear I'm going to knock you out if you keep talking stupid like that."

Sam gave him a slight smile. "It's okay Dean. I know how to fix it."

Dean looked suspicious. "How?"

Sam started to speak, then abruptly got up. "It's kind of a long story, and I could use some coffee." He started to move towards the door. "I saw a machine down the hall. Do you want some?"

"You're just getting coffee, right? You're not taking off?" Dean couldn't help but worry.

Sam smirked. "Just coffee, Dean. Now, do you want some or not? Dean nodded. "Okay, I'll be right back. I _promise_," he added when Dean still looked like he almost wanted to tag along.

Dean paced while Sam was gone. _Stupid kid. Thinking this is his fault. He's my responsibility, this is my job. He never asked for any of this._

His thoughts were broken up when Sam came back rather quickly with two steaming cups of coffee. Dean masked his surprise. Although he had believed that Sam was coming back, he had thought that his younger brother would have taken some extra time to put off the discussion.

Sam handed one of the cups to Dean, who took a deep breath of the coffee and smiled with pleasure. It was odd, really. The rest of the day, he wouldn't touch coffee. But in the morning, he loved it. He took off the lid and took a quick sip, flinching a bit as it burned going down

Sam smiled. "When are you going to learn, huh? You need to let it cool down first."

"I like to live dangerously," Dean kidded. "Even if it is just coffee." He took another sip and looked at Sam. "Okay, enough of that. What is this about you knowing how to 'fix" this? I'm not sure I like the sound of that."

Sam looked down at his own drink. "Well, like I said, Wish Demon's don't have to grant any specific wish. They get to pick and choose. But there's one exception." He watched as his brother continued to drink his coffee with enthusiasm.

"Oh really? What's that?" Dean asked.

Sam looked at him closely and figured it was safe to tell him now. "Josie said the incantation that brought him here. It's why he isn't using her to increase his power. She was the first – it amuses him to keep her aware of everything that is going on, of what he tells her she's caused."

Dean nodded, not noticing that he swayed slightly. "Okay, that makes sense. But what does that have to do with what you're talking about?"

"All I have to do is go to where Josie said the incantation. There's a separate one to banish him. When you do…" Sam hesitated, looking at Dean. "You get to make a wish. And it's automatically granted. So I can undo yours at that point."

"What? No way!" Dean tried to get up, but had to sit down as a wave of dizziness came over him. He ignored it, knowing he couldn't let his brother go this route. "If you do that, everything goes back to the way it was…and you'll die. There's no way I'm letting that happen!"

"Actually, you don't have a choice," Sam said apologetically.

It was at that moment that Dean realized what had just happened with horror. "Sam, tell me you did not just drug me!" He barely noticed that his words were slurred. He was getting more drowsy every second.

"I'm sorry, Dean," Sam said. "I really am. But I knew you'd try to stop me otherwise."

"Damn right I'm going to stop you!" Dean tried to sound forceful, but it was lost as the drug continued to slow down his motor skills.

"No, you're not," Sam said quietly. "This is my responsibility. I let you come here. I'm the reason you're dying in my place. And I'm going to be the one to help you this time." He gently took Dean by the shoulders and laid him down on the bed.

Dean's mind was frantic but his body wasn't cooperating. He knew he was going to lose consciousness soon and wouldn't be able to stop Sam from reversing his wish. He tried to sit up one more time and failed. "Sam, please, don't do this!"

Sam looked at his brother one last time as he opened the door. He saw Dean looking at him with pleading eyes that were slowly closing, unable to fight off the drug.

"It's Sammy," he told him quietly, giving him a quick, soft smile. Dean's eyes were completely closed at this point. Sam knew it might be the last time he ever saw his brother, and took an extra few seconds to look at him. "I love you," Sam said softly, not even knowing if Dean had heard him, but feeling better for having said it. Then, straightening his shoulders, Sam stepped into the cold night air and closed the door behind him.

But Dean had heard him. And despite every instinct screaming at him to stay awake, to save Sam, Dean had no choice but to succumb to the drug as his world went black.

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A/N: Okay, I'm not sure whether there are one or two more chapters left, but we are coming close to the end. Hope you like this installment (late as it is!). Please review and let me know! Thanks!


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